Magazine

Research shows that more often than not, Americans give up trying to sort their recyclables. Or they engage in wishful recycling, tossing nonrecyclables into the bin. Even so, most waste never gets that far. People feel intimidated by the task. A UCLA researcher has uncovered promising solutions to the recycling crisis driven by personal benefits and social connections.

Dealing with enormous quantities of debris and waste materials is one of the most significant challenges for communities in the wake of natural disasters. Often this task overwhelms local waste managers, leaving waste untouched for weeks, months or even years.

Even with the progress made in introducing alternatives to fossil fuels, gaining energy efficiencies and proposed carbon regulations around the world, avoiding catastrophic impacts on our coastal infrastructure, biodiversity, food, energy and water resources will require more. Many climate researchers believe government needs to advance technology that will actually suck carbon dioxide out of the air and put it away for very long periods.

Emily Fusco, University of Massachusetts Amherst The Santa Ana winds that help drive fall and winter wildfires in California have died down, providing welcome relief for residents. But other ecological factors contribute to fires in ways that scientists are still discovering. I study how human actions affect fire regimes – the patterns through which fires

The global oil industry stands at a crossroads. Corporate leaders are weighing how closely to stay wedded to their legacy business – finding, extracting and refining fossil energy – versus preparing for an uncertain low-carbon future.

David Wild, Indiana University A major wildfire spread through Colorado, and I spent long hours locating shelters, identifying evacuation routes and piecing together satellite imagery. As the Fourmile Canyon Fire devastated areas to the west of Boulder, ultimately destroying 169 homes and causing US$217 million in damage, my biggest concerns were ensuring that people could

Jennifer M. Bernstein, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Like many Americans, I worry about the state of the planet and try to make a positive impact through decisions in my day-to-day life. But I also am nagged by the feeling that I often get it wrong, even though

Sheril Kirshenbaum, Michigan State University and Douglas Buhler, Michigan State University By 2050, many scientists estimate that the world food supply will have to increase sharply from today’s level to meet anticipated demand from a global population of 9 to 10 billion people. Meanwhile, the coming decades are expected to bring higher and more variable

Adriana Briscoe, University of California, Irvine An award-winning scientist and professor of evolutionary biology, Adriana Briscoe studies the evolution of vision in butterflies and how they see color. Briscoe is currently working on her first book, which is a memoir about, what else? Butterflies. A descendant of Mexican immigrants who fled the Mexican Revolution at

Matthew Savoca, Stanford University Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has become a global environmental crisis. Many people have seen images that seem to capture it, such as beaches carpeted with plastic trash or a seahorse gripping a cotton swab with its tail. As a scientist researching marine plastic pollution, I thought I had seen